Nissan said the Leaf will be initially available to buyers in December, in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee. Firm orders will be able to be placed starting next month for those living in these five launch states. Beyond these initial markets, Texas and Hawaii will follow shortly thereafter, in January 2011; North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Alabama follow in April 2011; and a roll out to the balance of the nation beginning in Fall 2011 with availability in all markets nationwide by the end of that year.

image via Nissan

Nissan added that the warranty for the Leaf’s battery pack with be 8 years or 100,000 miles, which is the same as for the Volt. The Leaf, by comparison, won’t be quite as feature rich as the Volt, which reflects in part the difference in price.

“We are pleased to see so many people making a choice for a zero-emission future by placing reservations for the Nissan Leaf,” said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, Nissan North America, in a statement. “Consumer feedback and market readiness have been key drivers in developing our phased rollout. Nissan is able to target areas of customer demand for early launch, while continuing to work in future markets to ensure the continued success of electric vehicles.”

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I am the editor-in-chief and founder for EarthTechling. This site is my desire to bring the world of green technology to consumers in a timely and informative matter. Prior to this my previous ventures have included a strong freelance writing career and time spent at Silicon Valley start ups.